Dharavi Slum, Mumbai

Women and children wait for a bus in monsoon rains in Dharavi, Mumbai, India.

A mosque in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Foul water in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India. Sewage and chemicals are discharged into the water.

A fouled waterway in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Chaos reigns in Mumbai, India, where goats on mounds of construction debris and incredible tangles of electrical wires in residential areas are par for the course.

General view of the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India, known as the largest slum in Asia and made famous by the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

Corn is roasted on coals at a market in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Flatbread dries on large woven baskets in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India. I was told it was potato bread.

A man puts his hand next to a marijuana plant growing in a garden in Mahim, Mumbai, India.

Tins full of oils in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A man fills up bottles of water with unfiltered tap water to sell, in Dharavi, by most account the most crowded square mile on Earth, with about a million people. Water is rationed by the government of Mumbai and is subject to random restrictions and the performance of monsoon rains.

The Dharavi slum in Mumbai is a major center for recycling some of the plastic waste generated by Mumbai's 20 million people. A reputed 80%% of the plastic that does get recycled (the vast majority of plastic waste in Mumbai is never recycled) is processed in Dharavi.

A fog of mosquito insecticide fills the street in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India. The spray is used to help control malaria.

A man takes a bucket shower on a sidewalk in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A delightfully weathered door splashed with paint on a street in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Typical water quality in the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, likely the most crowded square mile on Earth with about a million people. Some of the public canals are used as a latrine, and a dense concentration of small factories discharge chemicals into the water.

Betel leaves at a market stall in Mahim, Mumbai, India.

Water pipes near the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Auto rickshaws at night near the Dharavi slum and Mahim, Mumbai, India.

A man and a stray dog sleep on a sidewalk in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

General view of the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India, known as the largest slum in Asia and made famous by the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

A goat sits in the driver's seat of a rickshaw truck in the Dharavi slum of Mumbai, India.

A stray dog sleeps on a dirt pile in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Mumbai, India is a concrete jungle, set amidst steamy tropical forest and mangroves, tiny remnants of which can be seen even in the heart of downtown, like this scene at a squatter's camp near Dharavi slums.

Foul water in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India. Toilets open directly to the canals in some parts of Dharavi.

Residents pose in a weathered high-rise apartment in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Sacks full of sand at a construction site in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A fog of mosquito insecticide fills the street in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India. The spray is used to help control malaria.

A lightbulb in a market stall illuminates a small painting of Jesus, Sion, Mumbai, India.

Spices for sale in Sion, Mumbai, India.

A family in their paint shop in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A fire burns in a street in the Dharavi slum of Mumbai, India.

Water pipes running between Bandra and the Dharavi slum area, Mumbai, India.

A goat sits in the driver's seat of a rickshaw truck in the Dharavi slum of Mumbai, India.

A machinist works at a shop in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Flaming bucket on a street in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Water pipes near the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A man tends a shop in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A welder works at a shop in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

The Dharavi slum in Mumbai is a major center for recycling some of the plastic waste generated by Mumbai's 20 million people. A reputed 80%% of the plastic that does get recycled (the vast majority of plastic waste in Mumbai is never recycled) is processed in Dharavi.

Water pipes running between Bandra and the Dharavi slum area, Mumbai, India.

General view of the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India, known as the largest slum in Asia and made famous by the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

Auto rickshaws at night near the Dharavi slum and Mahim, Mumbai, India.

The words "I Love India" on the back of a bicycle seat in Sion, Mumbai, India.

Men in the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India make large quanitities of milk and bread pudding in a sweltering workshop,

Two men tend a small sporting goods shop in SIon, Mumbai, India.

Cows eat discarded corn husks in a slum area in Mahim, Mumbai, India.

A woman grinds hot peppers in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Water pipes running between Bandra and the Dharavi slum area, Mumbai, India.

A child's bike in Mahim, Mumbai, India.

The Dharavi slum in Mumbai is a major center for recycling some of the plastic waste generated by Mumbai's 20 million people. A reputed 80%% of the plastic that does get recycled (the vast majority of plastic waste in Mumbai is never recycled) is processed in Dharavi.

A fire burns in a street in the Dharavi slum of Mumbai, India.

Worker at a flour mill in Mahim, Mumbai, India.

S.L. Raheja Hospital as seen from the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Goat sitting at the feet of a manequin, Bandra West, Mumbai, India.

The Dharavi slum in Mumbai is a major center for recycling some of the plastic waste generated by Mumbai's 20 million people. A reputed 80%% of the plastic that does get recycled (the vast majority of plastic waste in Mumbai is never recycled) is processed in Dharavi.

Corn is roasted on coals at a market in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A stray dog sleeps next to baskets full of vegetables a market in Dharavi, Mumbai, India.

A delightfully weathered door splashed with paint on a street in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A small wooden Hindu altar sits on a garbage pile in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Monsoon rains on a main thoroughfare through Dharavi, Mumbai, India.

The Dharavi slum in Mumbai is a major center for recycling some of the plastic waste generated by Mumbai's 20 million people. A reputed 80%% of the plastic that does get recycled (the vast majority of plastic waste in Mumbai is never recycled) is processed in Dharavi.

Latrines emptying directly into a canal in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Dusk along a main thoroughfare in the Dharavi-Sion area of Mumbai, India

Portrait of two men in Dharavi, Mumbai, India.

A woman buys eggs in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

People walking to the Mahim Railway Station, Mumbai, India.

A fog of mosquito insecticide fills the street in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India. The spray is used to help control malaria.

The Dharavi slum in Mumbai is a major center for recycling some of the plastic waste generated by Mumbai's 20 million people. A reputed 80%% of the plastic that does get recycled (the vast majority of plastic waste in Mumbai is never recycled) is processed in Dharavi.

Marijuana plants growing in a garden in Mahim, Mumbai, India.

The much lauded recycling program in the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India is not all positives. Here children work in a dark, dirty, poorly ventilated room dismantling old shoes and sandals, while their taskmaster sits in a chair all day wearing a face mask to guard against the rubber particles and the constant exhaust fumes from the busy road outside the shop. Here he is receiving a blessing. The bulk of the recycling in Dharavi is plastic, and children work in many of those shops as well.

Spices for sale in Sion, Mumbai, India.

A man transports eggs via bicycle in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A welder works at his shop in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A train passes by the Mahim Railway Station, Mumbia, India.

By most accounts the most densely populated square mile on Earth, the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India has about a million people.

A worker in a sweet shop in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Children play on a jungle gym in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A stray dog sleeps in a temple in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

Water pipes running between Bandra and the Dharavi slum area, Mumbai, India.

A man tends his bauble shop in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A fog of mosquito insecticide fills the street in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India. The spray is used to help control malaria.

A pile of wrappers from plastic bottles sits next to a dumpster in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A butcher in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India. Dharavi is mostly Muslim.

Portrait of a man in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India.

A goat sits in the driver's seat of a rickshaw truck in the Dharavi slum of Mumbai, India.

Flatbread dries on large woven baskets in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai, India. I was told it was potato bread.